StanceNation SoCal 2017

Stance — the word is polarizing in certain enthusiast circles. We're not deaf to the haters, but we also aren't immediately dismissive of the entire subset of modifiers and fans either, especially when in general the scene isn't as freakish or impractical as many make it out to be. These folk are, after all, simply attempting to execute what is in their minds the best version of their builds — many which turn out not having ridiculous negative camber or unsafe ride height — and who can blame 'em for that? Especially when a lot of the cars aren't half bad.

StanceNation extols the virtues of this sometimes-divisive approach to vehicle customization, and for the first time in its young history had a standalone event in southern California after teaming up with Import Showoff and its Nisei Showoff for a handful of years. And they went huge — bringing in some 300 show cars to one of the Anaheim Convention Center's larger halls, vehicles it seemed from every faction under the enthusiast umbrella; so many rides, in fact, we will be splitting our coverage up into three parts, this general overall article followed by a Honda gallery and a gallery of the European whips among the gathering.

| Stancenation Socal 2017 RX 7 NSX

There were VIP cars (and minivans!), Itasha cars (did we say that right?), and even what looked like a section full of previous pbskids feature cars, where the likes of Jonny Grunwald's TCP Magic Mazda FD3S and Allen Lugue's Toyota AE86, among others, were posted up. Toyo Tires seemed like it had the largest vendor footprint at the show, bringing with it a complement of its most drool-worthy sponsored vehicles.

| Stancenation Socal 2017 Toyota Hilux

With so much good stuff, it can be hard to narrow down a favorite; honestly, we get overwhelmed and tend to gravitate toward the outliers, like this 1987 Toyota Hilux 22R standard cab, dubbed "ScrapeLux" and owned (we think) by Jordan Alatorre — or Mayela Jimenez. We're not sure; the Internet failed us. Anyhoo, the mini-truck is truly badass inside and out.

Get into our 100 photo-plus gallery, and keep an eye out for parts 2 and 3! And for more from StanceNation SoCal 2017, check out .